What did i see last night?

[oohmygod831]

ive been camping in Scotland for the past week and last night was clear(ish), first of all, the wow factor of seeing the night sky from a dark location is immense, although i didnt have my scope with me (wouldnt fit it in the car with all the kids cr**) i just stared at the sky for what seemed like ages.

While i was looking at Jupiter (first time ive seen it , assumed it was just another star before) i saw something below hercules (i think)

It looked like a fireball but it seemed to pulse and lasted only two seconds, it was the brightest thing in the sky and about 2 to 3 times the size of jupiter to the naked eye.

Im sorry if my description is poor but i dont know how else to describe what i saw, any ideas what i saw?

[Viking]

Simon,

It was an Iridium Flare. Predictions on their timing and location are given on Heavens-Above.com.

http://www.heavens-above.com/iridium.asp?Dur=1&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=CET

See the link above. Also an explanation from the link below:

http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/StarFAQ17.htm#q284

John

[Greg]

I'd agree with John..

Although i've photographed a few, I saw my first (Nekkid eye) This year in Bude whilst camping....Quite spectacular...